What Are We?
by fiann.a.mour
Summary: "What are we Tauriel?" "Lovers." The Hobbit is not mine.


She stood motionless with her hand clenched tightly around her bow. If even the slightest hint of an orc was sensed, she would be ready. This was the second time she had saved his life and she intended to keep it safe. The others, who had remained behind with their injured kin, seemed to tsense her intent and took to guarding the outside.

He stirred lightly in his sleep behind her and she glanced back briefly. The fever had long since broken, but the young prince still needed much rest. Tauriel was pleased to note that he looked peaceful in his slumber and then her focus shifted back to the door.

For hours she remained steadfast and vigilant. The sun set outside the small lake home and the stars were now bright in the sky, but Tauriel did not waver in her guard. It wasn't until the sensation of gentle tugging on her did she finally break her focus.

"What are you doing?" Her tone was curious, but not displeased.

"I'm braiding your hair", he paused, perhaps in realization that he should have thanked her for saving him rather than immediately start styling her hair, "I'll stop." He blushed.

Tauriel remanded herself for the loss of the sensation of his hands in her hair.

_Do you think she could have loved me?_

The memory of his fevered ramblings moved to the forefront of her thoughts and she found herself feeling both awkward and bold.

"My braids have come loose from travel out of Mirkwood. I hope you will fix them", she turned to see Kili's expression of surprise, "if you are feeling well enough". It was her turn to blush.

"I feel quite well."

She could hear him shuffling to an upright position and knocking several walnuts to the ground in the process. The smallest hiss of pain escaped his lips and she was examining his wound in an instant.

"Are you badly pained? You should lie back down. Let me get you-"

"Tauriel, please calm yourself', he cradled her chin in an effort to get her to look anywhere besides his injured leg, "I am well. Please, sit before me and let me fix your hair. You look awful."

Kili watched as Tauriel's face turned up in an amused grin and sat down before him. He noticed with a smirk that she was sitting between his legs. There was nothing wrong with her current braids, elves very rarely mussed their hair, but he knew better. That pull to her he'd been feeling was clearly not one-sided and he rejoiced silently. Slowly, so as to savor it, he undid her hair and relished in the silken texture of its fiery mass. The temptation to bury his face in it nagged at him, but he was more worried about scaring her away.

Tauriel remained stone still, eyes to the floor, and focused on her breathing. When one of Kili's hands brushed up against her neck, her breath had hitched, and she put forth her best effort to act as if it had not happened.

"Do you know how significant braiding hair is to dwarf kind?"

His voice was low, right beside her ear, and her breathing became erratic. What had she been thinking when she asked him to fix her hair? She felt a fool and was doing poor job hiding it.

"I do not."

It wasn't exactly a lie. Truthfully, the significance was unknown to her, but based on his affectionate tone, she could easily guess. The feeling of his hands in her hair was enchanting and the desire to rest her head in them was overwhelming.

"Well", he began, "us dwarves don't just let anyone touch, let alone braid our hair. We reserve that right for only our closest companions, family members, and...lovers."

The last word was a whisper in her ear and she let out a small noise of acknowledgment to let him know she was listening, but not affected. It came out more strained and quieter than she had intended. Kili chuckled.

"What are we Tauriel?" All trace of humor gone from his voice. He spoke her name as if it were a treasure.

_Indeed...what were they?_ _Not friends, certainly not family, but lovers? When had he stopped braiding her hair?_

One of her hands came up to touch the back of her head. Though Tauriel could not see it, she could feel the beauty of this particular braid and she wondered what this style meant. In the midst of feeling her new braids, she felt a hand placed over her own. Strong and warm, it was larger than her own. She had not expected that.

She turned to face him and their eyes locked.

"Lovers."

The word was nothing more than a whisper, but he had heard it nonetheless. The eyes she had been staring into widened incredulously.

She had not meant to say it aloud, but something about this dwarf...no, race did not matter here; something about Kili disarmed her and made her feel even younger than her 600 years.

Kili said nothing, but tentatively he moved his face closer to hers and stopped just barely in front of her lips. His eyes were questioning and honest. Tauriel could see everything he felt in those warm eyes. She only needed to bridge the gap and everything would be in the open. It would be the end of her resolve and she did not care.

She moved her hand up to cup his cheek and closed the gap. Their lips barely touched, but there was fire there.

The door slammed open and the two jumped apart.

"Smaug is coming!"


End file.
